The horror genre has been thriving for a number of years now, to the delight of fans. As that renaissance continues, many of the best horror movies returned to theater via new sequels or reboots. John Carpenter’s Halloween was no exception, with Jamie Lee Curtis turning to play Laurie Strode for a trilogy of new movies. One Halloween alum finally explained why he ended up wearing a skirt for most of his scenes in the horror flicks, and it makes total sense.
The Blumhouse reboot of Halloween ignored the previous sequels and directly followed up on the 1978 original. While plenty of familiar faces returned throughout the trilogy, Jamie Lee Curtis was also joined by newcomers. Chief among them was Allyson’s boyfriend Cameron Elam, played by Dylan Arnold. He ended up in a skirt throughout almost all of his scenes, including his brutal death by Michael Myers. He recently spoke to THR about how that came to be, saying:
It was honestly partially my fault. At the end of the first one, they’re dressed up as Bonnie and Clyde, and I have the skirt on. So, when we started filming the second movie, it picked up right after the first one, and so we had conversations about where my character had gone. So David and I had a conversation before my first day, and he said, ‘Okay, so we can justify you changing into pants along the way, or we could have you wear the skirt the whole movie. I obviously think the skirt is more fun, but what do you think? We have to decide now and stick with it.’
Well, there you have it. Cameron ended up keeping his Halloween costume on for the 2018 movie and all of Halloween Kills. And as such, Arnold rocked a skirt while filming much of those two movies. And he could have gotten out of it, but a reason for Allyson’s boyfriend getting changed would have needed to be built into the bloody sequel’s script.
Dylan Arnold’s conversation with THR about his time in Haddonfield comes as he’s promoting his role in the ensemble cast of Oppenheimer. Eventually the conversation turned to his time working on David Gordon Green’s first two Halloween movies. Unfortunately, Cameron’s death in Halloween Kills meant he couldn’t return for Ends.
Later in that same interview, Arnold revealed that he was all about keeping his character in a skirt… including his absolutely horrifying death sequence. Hey, that’s one way of making an impression. As he put it,
And I said, ‘You know what? I don’t see any other option than doing the skirt. I think we have to do it.’ I also knew my character was gonna die at the end of that movie, so I said, ‘What’s better than dying in a skirt?’
Fair point. Halloween Kills directly picked up where the 2018 movie left off, and was a continuation of the same bloody night. The movie followed as the town of Haddonfield became an angry mob and attempted to take out Michael Myers themselves. Unfortunately, the ending of Halloween Kills saw The Shape murdering almost the entire cast, including poor Cameron.
Oppenheimer is in theaters now and Halloween Kills is streaming on Max. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
